VICTORY for Popeye's workers!

After almost a year of organizing and demanding that their rights be respected and their hard-earned work recognized, Centro Presente declares victory for Popeye’s workers.

At this morning’s press conference in Boston City Hall, organizers were proud to announce that after a public campaign that brought to light the struggle of the workers, they finally received payment for weeks of unpaid wages dating back to September 2009. The workers joined with Centro Presente’s workers rights committee to organize rallies, community meetings, and actions to raise awareness of the issue. Their organized efforts finally brought the owner of the now-closed Kenmore Square Popeye’s to comply with the order issued by the state attorney general’s office back in May to pay $9,748 in unpaid wages. Upon hearing that their efforts had been successful, the former cashiers and cooks were overjoyed. “We learned a lot through this process. When we organize, we can win,” said Claudia Meza, one of the workers.

Highlighting the systemic nature of the problem of wage and hour violations and exploitation of low-income workers, Patricia Montes, executive director of Centro Presente, stated, “While we applaud this small victory, these workers are not the only ones being exploited. We are going to continue to educate and organize so that the rights of all workers are respected.”